The power of collaborative approaches
During the
past year, in the middle of a worldwide health and economic crisis, the
hashtag #weareinthistogether went viral for a while. It was used in a wide
spread of industries and also covered my “home industry” – aviation.
The feeling
of #weareinthistogether let to a new social helpfulness between individuals and companies which
empowered and inspired creative solutions. The purpose to assist, help and
to provide safety and support as far as
possible to the people around us – it kept us going. Moving forward and to
fight our own uncertainties. But over time I can’t help to recognize the
hashtag misused to cover the sales approach under the impression of unity.
So what
really counts to keep the positive spirit alive for collaborative approaches?
For those
who know me, it is no secret that I always have been a believer in networks,
cooperation and combining strengths of individuals and companies.
No matter
if locally or globally, within single industries or even across multiple
companies who naturally are competitors – the essence of a successful
collaborative alliance is certainly the joint purpose of those on the table. In business
alliances, “those” aren’t the companies only. It is the people who create,
develop, understand, learn, discuss, elevate - and show the passion to make change happen.
I had the
unbelievable luck to be part to create an alliance within the aircraft
modification aftermarket. We started in 2019 with the 4 founding partners. It
has been the individual representatives of those companies who invested their
knowledge, time, trust and spirit to formulate joint objectives – and convinced
their colleagues, management and partners to invest into this future long-term alliance.
Those believers were the first key
ingredient to successfully create the the alliance as an open non-profit association within just one year.
Soon after
the general agreement amongst the founding members, all partners allocated
their best employees to the alliance working groups who collectively filled the
key initiative “buzzwords” with life. The elected working group steering heads kept
their groups together and managed stormy phases of discussions.
First new members
joined the alliances as early adopters who all did commit in the very early
phase. When the COVID19 crisis hit the world, the alliance was just born and
its first all-members official General
Assembly was held under lock-down circumstances.
What keeps the
alliance moving forward were the challenges the members are facing – overcoming
those together formed the joint purpose -
even before COV19 hit the world and its people.
All the
ingredients above – believers, ability to listen & learn, trust into crowd
intelligence and the joint purpose – creates an environment in which the
alliance is able to adapt to quick changes.
It forms
the real #weareinthistogether. Collegial, informative, helpful – so simple
words - brought together to create a collaborative
power which keeps the alliance growing and succeeding.
It is an
honor to work in such an environment!
